How Disney’s New Pixar Land Will Change Disneyland Forever

Paradise Pier, which hosts three attractions along the waterfront at Disney California Adventure, will trade its turn-of-the-century seaside boardwalk for a playful Pixar theme in early 2018. The update will bring changes, closures, and plenty of exciting updates.

If you're wondering what that means for those heading to Disneyland, two of California Adventure’s popular rides and restaurants will be closed for three months in early 2018, and that could send a ripple effect to lines for other food, drink and attractions throughout the park. By springtime, however, there will be many new sights.

Next April the California Screamin’ roller coaster will become the Incredicoaster, as it is lightly re-themed to “The Incredibles,” with a new loading area, character enhancements, and updated ride vehicles (just in time for the movie sequel’s June debut).

Disney-Pixar / Courtesy of Disneyland Resort

Mickey’s Fun Wheel, which serves as one of the park’s main focal points particularly during the World of Color nighttime show, will add Pixar character art on its gondolas. Both attractions, as well as a shop and midway games along the boardwalk, will close January 8 next year.

“Inside Out” is getting its own Disney Parks attraction for the first time ever, with a family-friendly spinner ride set to debut later in the year.

Toy Story Midway Mania!, the 4-D shoot-out game located in the middle of Paradise Pier, will remain unchanged.

The ever-popular Cove Bar, with its Instagram-worthy concoctions and piled-high food will also close for a large part of 2018, while Ariel’s Grotto restaurant, known for its character dining with Disney princesses, will shutter for a not-yet-revealed rehaul on January 8 as well.

The debut of Disney California Adventure’s new updates will come during Pixar Fest, a seasonal celebration including a new nighttime fireworks show featuring Pixar characters and the return of the Paint The Night parade.

With Pixar Pier debuting along with the festival on April 18, 2018, Disneyland will have only three months to overhaul an entire section of the park. It’s been done before — Imagineers had a similar amount of time to transform the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission:Breakout! — but with two attractions, two restaurants, and a handful of smaller games and shops to work on, the timeline is tight.

Disney-Pixar / Courtesy of Disneyland Resort

Details about Pixar Pier are just some of the large-scale changes coming to Disneyland in the coming years. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the massively hyped park expansion set to bring Lucasfilm’s iconic movies to life, will debut in 2019, and when Disneyland’s new hotel debuts in 2021, it’ll overhaul much of the park’s Downtown Disney area.

Don’t be surprised if Disney California Adventure, right down to its name, is updated soon as well. With pre-existing areas like Cars Land and A Bug’s Land already themed to movies and the new “Guardians of the Galaxy” attraction teeing up a large-scale Marvel expansion soon to come, the addition of Pixar Pier all but signals that Disney California Adventure is on its way to becoming an entirely cinematic-inspired park.